A chart is a graphical representation of data in a report. You use charts to display complex data in a format that is easily understood. A report can contain a chart that functions as a report itself, or it can combine a chart with other report elements to highlight relevant information. This section provides an overview of the different types of charts you can modify using Interactive Viewer, and explains how you can filter chart data, change chart subtypes, and format charts in a report.

A chart displays data as one or more sets of points. Charts are particularly useful for summarizing numeric data and showing the relationship between sets of values called series. The two types of series are category series and value series, typically denoted by the x‑ and y‑axis. For example, a chart can show sales by region, average temperatures by month, or the price of a stock over three months.

Interactive Viewer also enables you to modify the subtype, formatting, and layout of Flash charts and Flash gadgets, as well as HTML5 charts, all of which are animated graphical representations of report data. This section describes Flash charts and Flash gadgets, and HTML5 charts, and explains how you can modify each of these BIRT report elements.